Tigard family barely escapes weekend house fire

View full sizeTualatin Valley Fire & RescueA Saturday morning fire gutted the interior of a Tigard home. Six adults and a baby barely got out safely.A burning ember from a wood stove probably kicked off a raging house fire in Tigard over the weekend that forced residents to flee, barely making it out of the home, according to Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue officials.

About 8 a.m. Saturday, firefighters arrived at 8708 S.W. Spruce Street to find six adults and an infant who had narrowly escaped the burning home. Four people and the baby were able to get out on the first floor, but two people were trapped upstairs by smoke and flame.

View full sizeTualatin Valley Fire & RescueA ladder propped against the home on Spruce Street allowed two people to escape the second story of a home that caught fire Saturday in Tigard.They were able to get out when, with the help of a neighbor, the homeowner propped a ladder against the building and they climbed out a window. Two cats and two dogs died in the fire, though firefighters tried to revive them with pet rescue kits.

Fire investigators said the fire appeared to start on the living room couch sparked by an ember from a nearby wood stove. Investigators said one of the residents started the fire in the wood stove, left the room and shortly after that the home's smoke detectors went off.

"Without working smoke alarms and the quick action of the homeowner, this fire could have seriously injured or killed the two trapped adults," said TVF&R spokeswoman Cassandra Ulven.